John Barrett

Former North Adams Mayor John Barrett now serves as the Democratic State Representative for the 1st Berkshire District of Massachusetts. He’s been in office since November 2017, after winning a special election following the death of State Representative Gailanne Cariddi. After 26 years at the head the smallest city in the commonwealth, the 71-year-old is now tackling statewide politics. He spoke with WAMC about the impact of the new state budget on northern Berkshire County.

Former North Adams Mayor John Barrett is re-entering politics. Having already led the western Massachusetts city for more than two decades, Barrett is running to fill the 1st Berkshire District House seat left vacant by the June death of Gailanne Cariddi. In an exclusive interview, WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief JD Allen spoke with Barrett about his decision to run for the State House.

In one of the most compelling races in our region last night, voters in North Adams decided to stick with the current mayor instead of putting the man who led the city for a quarter century back into the corner office.

When voters in North Adams go to the polls tomorrow, the choices in the mayoral race will be the same as the 2009 ballot. Long-time mayor John Barrett is challenging current officeholder Richard Alcombright in one of the more intriguing races in the region this year.

The first mayoral debate in North Adams was a verbal boxing match on the auditorium stage at Drury High School last night. It pitted three-term Mayor Richard Alcombright against former mayor John Barrett. Alcombright ended Barrett’s 26-year run by defeating him in 2009. Barrett challenged Alcombright’s economic development strategy, saying he hasn’t created one job in six years. Alcombright touted his efforts to make government transparent calling Barrett’s time in office “a government of one.”

Former North Adams Mayor John Barrett, who ran city hall for 25 years before being ousted from office in 2009, continued his comeback bid in Tuesday’s preliminary election. Barrett outpaced incumbent Mayor Richard Alcombright in each of the city’s wards, finishing with 51 percent of the vote. Third-place finisher Eric Rudd was knocked out of the race. Barrett says he wants to debate Alcombright over the coming six-week sprint to election day.